5th September Meeting Part Two
There was some confusion over the bricks and building materials for the kiln – we learnt that we needed to be very specific about the types of brick necessary – it wasn’t enough to talk about soft and dense firebricks, as everyone seemed to have a different understanding of what that meant. We realised that we needed to point out that it was necessary that the materials used would be able to expand and contract with the firing cycle, eg large components made of castable materials which might withstand great temperatures, may crack with the strain of repeated firings. In effect, we became aware of the extent to which kiln building and firing is a very specialist area and therefore we need to be very clear in our communication of the subtleties involved.
The meeting was inconclusive – we all had some further research to do.
It is worth noting that everyone at the meeting had different expertise and priorities; despite this there was a shared vision to succeed with the project; everyone was keen to exchange knowledge and to learn. It did become apparent that the kiln build was going to be more difficult than envisaged, but nobody gave up on the idea. Although anxious about the technicalities, Penny and I were excited that the project had begun.
